Housing and Preventing Homelessness
Housing law is concerned with the "home" in all its legal aspects. It is, therefore, a very large and diverse area of law that overlaps with draws on many other different areas of the law. For example, the drafting of the tenancy agreement (or lease) requires an understanding of conveyancing law, while questions regarding the quality of standard of accommodation, its "tenantability", require an appreciation of the Housing (Scotland) Acts, Building Regulations and the common law. Moreover, if someone is injured while at home, either their own or someone else's, their lawyer will require a knowledge of personal injury law, especially the Occupier's Liability (Scotland) Act. On the other hand, rent arrears' problems may require a familiarity with Housing Benefit Regulations. People facing repossession by their bank may benefit from a lawyer experienced in mortgage rights' applications, while those who have already lost their homes may benefit from a lawyer skilled in using homelessness legislation.
Legal Services Agency's Court Department consists of a team of seven lawyers and one paralegal who can offer a high calibre, professional advice and representation on all of these aspects of housing law and many more besides, often at no cost to the client.
- Landlord/tenant matters
- Rent arrears and Housing Benefit
- Mortgage difficulties
- Housing disrepair cases
- Illness arising from damp housing
- Accidents in the home (tenant cases)
- Right to buy
- Succession to tenancy
- Antisocial behaviour and nuisance neighbours
- Allocation of housing
- Homelessness
Also, see other pages on this website for greater detail on some of these services.
Report on General Court Department's Housing Law Services 2005/06